Knight Shift (30 page)

The next morning Jax woke early. He opened his eyes and found Penny still asleep and sprawled out on her stomach next to him. While watching her, he listened to her even and deep breathing. The sound was mesmerizing. When he gently moved a strand of hair that was lying across her face, she stirred at his touch. But instead of waking up, she snuggled into him with her face buried against his chest. When he wrapped his arm and leg over her and pulled her in even tighter, she moaned contentedly in her sleep.

While holding her, he thought about everything that happened the day before. He had dreamed countless times about what it would be like if he and Penny were intimate, but he wasn’t prepared for the rollercoaster of emotions that the experience would cause. Although he knew their relationship was only temporary and they would never work as a couple, he wanted to stay locked in this hotel room for days with Penny’s naked body intertwined with his. But his needs were secondary to hers and he vowed that he would not take advantage of her pain. He would suppress his ache and let Penny take the lead on how their physical relationship did or didn’t grow. He was praying that she would choose growth.

Confessing his secret night life to her had also lifted a heavy weight off his chest and he now looked forward to the days ahead. Although he was still full of guilt over his deception, Penny’s forgiveness showed him, once again, how strong she was. In a feeble attempt to say thank you, he had one and only one goal—to do whatever it took to keep Penny happy.

As they finished their morning routine and they were about to head out the door, Penny asked, “You’re not going to shave your head today? We aren’t in any hurry; I can wait.” She feared that her getting up late was the reason why he was skipping a task she assumed he hadn’t missed since the day he went out on his own.

“No need.” He rubbed his hand across the stubble on his head and said, “I thought I would try something new.”

She nodded approvingly and he let her lead them out of the room. Although she liked his smooth, shaved head, she knew that the lack of hair made his scars and eye tattoo stand out even in a large crowd. The effect also made him look very intimidating. From what little she had learned about Ice so far she knew that his look was by design. But with just the little bit of stubble, it had already softened his appearance.

During breakfast, they planned their morning. Penny hadn’t packed well for the trip and didn’t have an outfit that she thought was appropriate for a memorial. After asking their waitress for a good place to shop, Jax drove Penny downtown to the suggested shopping district.

When they arrived and found a place to park, Penny turned to Jax and said, “You don’t have to come in with me. I know that spending time watching me shop in a store full of Humans wouldn’t be much fun for you.”

He replied, “I’m coming,” and opened his door.

At first Penny was going to argue, but she really didn’t want to go in alone, so when he opened her door, she got out and whispered, “Thank you.”

As soon as they were out of the Rover, Penny reached for Jax’s hand. With their fingers intertwined, they walked up the street side by side. Like a good boyfriend, he waited outside the dressing room while she came out and paraded the outfits that she tried on. She was only trying on black dresses and, although that was his color of choice, he hated seeing her in it. He thought that the lack of color seemed to cause the pain that was in her heart to hover over her like a dark storm cloud.

As they stood in line at a checkout counter, Jax noticed the cashier staring at him nervously out of the corner of her eyes. He decided to walk away to give the woman some space. While he waited for Penny, he passed a sign for the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden that was located not far from the store. He picked up a brochure and, as he escorted Penny back to the Rover, he handed the advertisement to her and suggested, “Why don’t we go for a walk through a garden this afternoon? It isn’t far from here and you look like you need something to get your mind off of tomorrow’s memorial. It says they have a café so we could eat lunch there.”

Penny liked the idea of getting lost among flowers so she agreed.

After a short drive, they arrived at the garden and walked directly to the café, where they were seated at a table that overlooked a massive butterfly garden. Penny watched intently as a group of visitors released recently emerged butterflies. When a waiter passed her table, she stopped him and asked, “Excuse me. Can you tell me about how you sign-up to release a butterfly?”

The man replied, “They do it only once a week and the group for this week is already down there. The next opportunity won’t be until next Thursday.”

Penny thanked him, but was unable to hide her obvious disappointment.

While she finished her meal, Jax took out his phone and excused himself to make a quick call. He returned to Penny’s side by the time she finished her tea.

He held out his hand and asked, “Ready to go exploring?”

She accepted his hand and they spent several hours walking along the many winding paths. Although they rarely spoke, Penny didn’t mind. She enjoyed hearing the calls from exotic birds hiding in the trees and the babbling sounds of many fountains.

When it reached late afternoon, a man walked toward them wearing an official botanical garden shirt that identified him as a member of the staff and his badge announced that he was in management. Penny tensed and grabbed onto Jax’s hand tighter, fearing that Jax’s presence was somehow bothering other visitors and they were about to be asked to leave. She squared her shoulders and prepared to fight.

The man walked directly to Jax and said, “Sir, we’re ready whenever you are.”

Jax nodded and said, “Lead the way.”

Penny whispered, “Are we getting arrested or something? If he tries, I’ll trip him so that we can run out of here. You know that I’m in the right mood to do it.”

Jax chuckled and said, “Don’t get yourself all worked up. We aren’t being arrested. He’ll explain in a minute.”

They arrived at a door with a sign saying ‘Employees Only’. Their guide tapped a series of numbers onto a keypad and, after they heard a click, he opened the door and walked in.

“After you,” Jax said to Penny as he held the door for her.

Once they were in the room, they found a couple of younger workers waiting for them, each holding a container. Jax stepped to the side when one of the workers approached and handed Penny one of the containers.

Seeing the recently emerged butterfly, Penny asked, “What is this for?”

The manager answered, “Your fiancé informed me of your loss and of your disappointment in missing the release group earlier today. He made arrangements for you to have a private session.”

Penny looked to Jax and asked, “But how?”

The manager answered for him by saying, “Your fiancé is quit persistent and very generous. His gift will allow us to expand this exhibit.”

Realizing what Jax had done, she looked at Jax and said, “You shouldn’t have.”

Jax put a finger to her lips to silence her and said, “Shhh. Today is all about you, so let me do this.”

Penny was extremely grateful and, with her unstable emotional state causing tears to linger just below the surface, she found her eyes quickly beginning to burn. Jax waved the other workers over before she completely broke down.

They guided Penny into the main part of the exhibit enclosure where they explained what to do. With Jax at her side, she opened the first container. They watched intently as the brightly colored insect flapped its wings to dry them and then took flight. She did the same routine with the next three containers. As the insects fluttered around her head, Jax moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into his embrace and together they watched as the insects, realizing that they were free, happily flew off to join their new-found family high up in the air. Penny watched the scene silently for a very long time and then turned to face Jax. She wrapped her arms around his chest and enjoyed his cool embrace.

As Jax led her back toward the main part of the gardens, the manager held the door for them and said, “You’re both members for life, so come back to our garden as often as you want.”

After thanking him for his kindness, Jax walked Penny out of the garden and to the Rover. Once they were on the road heading back to their hotel, Penny said, “Although your gift was amazing, you shouldn’t spend so much money on me.”

“It’s my money and I’ll spend it on whatever I want. Right now I want to spend it trying to ease your pain. It’s the least I can do after I…” His words tapered off, but Penny knew that he was referring to his year-long deception. She nodded and accepted his gift with a smile.

Once they arrived back at the hotel, Jax had their dinner sent to their room and, after they ate, Penny announced, “I’m going to take a hot bath.”

Jax asked, “How about we walk down to the swimming pool? When we came in earlier, I spotted a large hot tub.”

Although the idea sounded wonderful, Penny thought Jax had already done too much for her. She said, “I can use the tub here in the room. Besides, I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”

“That can be easily taken care of.” Jax went to the phone and called the front desk. After they connected him to the store, he asked them to bring up two suits. Although his only requirement for his suit was black, he wanted Penny’s to be bright and pink. When he correctly said her size to the salesperson without having to ask, Penny was reminded how much Jax knew about her.

Shortly thereafter, a young man showed up at the door. After handing the box to Penny, Jax paid for the items. By the time the door was closed again, Jax turned around to find Penny holding up two, neon pink pieces of material. She said, “Ahhh, there isn’t much to this suit.”

“And that’s an issue, why?” He waved her off and said, “Go put it on.”

When Penny stepped out of the bathroom in a very revealing string bikini, Jax looked her over, gave her a playful growl, and said, “That definitely works for me and pink really is your color.”

Although she loved the color, the suit was too showy for her comfort. She was about to say no to the suit but, when she saw Jax’s obvious approval, she decided to keep her protests to herself. She was grateful that she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew.

While Jax continued to stare at her overly exposed figure, he said, “Thankfully, with you in that outfit, no one will be looking at me. The sight of my half naked body is going to scare everyone away.”

It was Penny’s turn to examine Jax in his long black swim shorts. She replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If others can’t appreciate the sight, that’s better for me. You’ll be all mine.”

Seeing the genuine affection she had in her eyes, he asked, “Why do you always look at me like you do? I know that I’m nothing to look at and not very pleasant to be around. Aren’t you bothered by all of my rather obvious imperfections?”

She shook her head. “They’re a part of you and I like you just the way you are. I don’t understand others’ reactions to you. They’re getting caught up in what’s on the surface and refusing to take the time to look at what’s hidden underneath.”

“You mean my killer instinct?”

She put her hands on her hips and let out a huff. “No…your incredible strength and unwavering loyalty. At this very moment, I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else on Earth.”

Seeing the seriousness in her expression, he asked in amazement, “You really mean that, don’t you?”

She nodded and, after wrapping a towel around herself, she said, “Let’s go before I change my mind about being seen in this postage stamp sized material.”

Jax pulled on a t-shirt, grabbed a towel, and they headed out of the room.

Once they were in the pool area, as expected, the moment that Jax took off his shirt, those watching gasped, pointed and whispered. When he could feel Penny’s anger start to flare, he whispered in her ear, “Just let it go, Mama Bear. It doesn’t bother me.”

“But it’s wrong and mean.”

“I think I’m tough enough to handle it.”

She relaxed her stance a little and replied, “Okay, but if they do anything else, I’m going to be the one to give them a reason to run from this room screaming.”

Jax chuckled at her protectiveness.

When they reached the side of the hot tub and Penny built up enough nerve to drop the towel, several young men sitting in chairs nearby whispered conspiratorially to each other, but Jax’s exceptional hearing allowed him to hear what was being said. Penny felt the vibration of his protective growl and, when she turned to him, she saw his eyes had turned dark and menacing.

To calm his anger and to give her admirers something else to gawk at, she rubbed her body against Jax seductively and ran her tongue along a nasty scar on his chest before giving him a kiss. Jax was shocked by Penny’s boldness in public, but thoroughly enjoyed her efforts and found that her touch had once again calmed his anger. Quite satisfied by the looks of envy in the young men’s eyes, Penny smiled and walked to the water’s edge with Jax’s hand in hers.

When Penny saw similar judgmental stares from those in the hot tub, she reminded herself that she knew no one in the room. She pushed back her inhibitions and decided to clear the tub.